In this sermon, the speaker discusses the book "Torch of the Testimony" by John Kennedy as a valuable history book. The speaker mentions that they were unable to provide their notes for the sermon but promises to address the topic next week. They also mention the importance of studying history rather than making guesses about the future. The sermon touches on the topic of the 70 weeks mentioned in the book of Daniel and emphasizes that there is no gap in God's timeline. The speaker encourages the audience to ask any burning questions and addresses the topic of the Second Coming mentioned in the Thessalonian Epistle.

This is one by the same author, Romanism and a Reformation, by Grattan Guinness, also out of print but sometimes more obtainable as it was published in this country by Arnold Publishing Association, Boston, Massachusetts. This little book, The Kingdom and the Enterprise by H. Ardron, which you can get by writing to Britain for it. But here is a nice little book, actually I discovered it last year, in this country. The Great Prophecies of the Bible by Ralph Woodrow, and he, Ralph Woodrow, Great Prophecies of the Bible, Box 124, Riverside, California, 92502. The Great Prophecies of the Bible by Ralph Woodrow, Box 124, Riverside, California, 92502. Published by the Ralph Woodrow Evangelistic Association Incorporated, because this kind of book is not popular, you understand. What I'm teaching you is not popular, people don't like to hear these things. Hmm? I think that my copy was marked only 220. Yeah, you can get three, three copies for six dollars, and they're thoroughly worth it, tremendous amount of information there. He's an amillennialist, I don't agree with him on that point, but nearly everything else I'm very happy with him. An amillennialist. That is, he doesn't believe there'll be a millennium, as far as I can tell. Pardon? I think, I think I'm right in saying that. I haven't checked up, but I don't think he's a... Yes, I think our brethren who don't agree with the millennium are wrong. What they say is it's another picture of the present age. But I don't think they have enough evidence for that. I agree with 95% of what he says, but I don't agree with him on the millennium. None of us has all the answers, you know. Could I tell you where I'm wrong, so you can ignore it? I never am wrong. Now then, question. Oh, have I... No, just a minute. That one. That's the trouble, isn't it? Yeah. Torch of the Testimony by John Kennedy is quite a reasonable history book. Not clear on the points I've been making, but it's a good deal of matter there. You may order from Testimony Book Ministry, West Bethesda Bridge, Washington, DC. Well, where's Nancy? Oh, there you are. I'm sorry that I made up my notes, but I couldn't get them to you today. But yes, if you can do them in the meantime, then you'll have all this information on your sheet by next week. Now then, before I say any more, any burning questions that need answering? Yes, sir? Well, just a question. Most unpopular. People much prefer to make guesses about the future than study history. Yes, yes. It's a fact. If I got up and shouted loudly enough with big placards and charts, about how the church goes up and how somebody else comes down and, you know, all that, thousands of folks would say, wonderful truth, just because it's... there's no fact in it. But this is really looking back into the years, and it takes some studying. Moreover, you see, what happened was this. These truths were rich, were widely known, and were the basis of the Reformation. But the Roman Catholic Church began a counter-Reformation with the Jesuits, who were devoted servants of the papacy. And they tried several ways to bring back the people of Europe to the church. One of their ways was by education, another by persecution, and another by the grossest, such gross diplomacy that they were turned out of every country in Europe for political intrigue. And also, they had to get up some explanation of Revelation, because the Bible had gone ahead of them. They couldn't stop it. So they had to get an explanation for it. So in my first introduction to these things, in my little allegory, I mentioned their names. A Jesuit, Alcazar, first taught the idea that everything in Revelation was fulfilled in the days of pagan Rome. And he didn't get a lot of success among the evangelicals, so a Jesuit named Remora put it all in the future, and was the father of our futurist view. His view lay dormant for a couple hundred years, until about 1840, when there was the terrible Millerite fiasco in this country. Some people had been too hot on date-setting and determined that Christ was going to come in 1844. And when the whole thing blew up and nothing happened, the folk were looking for a way out. Futurism offered a way out. And Darby, and Jane Darby, and Edward Irving, and others took it. It was soon seen as the answer. And all the cunning of that Jesuit has had its fruit in lots of extraordinary literature now published. It all came from that Jesuit. I think that the Scripture indicates that he begins at the time of the overthrow of old Rome, and he continues until the brightness of Christ's appearing to Thessalonians 2. So, if the period had been a short period, the Revelation period, it would have been one person, because it's so written that it could have been one person. But as we look back and see it spreading over the centuries, we see it was indeed a dynasty in which the same characteristics have marked that dynasty all the way down through the years. No. No, he is a man of his... the son of perdition. That is, he's Judas-like. Judas had his own personality. But if you read... Have you read this one, which gives you a summary of the deeds of the popes? I hope somebody has. Has anyone read that section on Church history? One or two or three. Two, if you've got it, read it. It won't take you ever so long. It's a very brief summary, and it's not half as horrible as the reality. But it's bad enough to turn you sick. The anti-Christian spirit is there, as it was already in the church in John's day. And wherever men rise to unwarranted power, the anti-Christian spirit is almost sure to manifest itself. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Antichrist was originally to arise out of the falling away. And that's the way it goes. Yes. Amen. Yes. Well, I'm glad that some of you are, at any rate, studying the book directly. And even though it doesn't all add up and make sense at the first time, even though your first guess is maybe a bit off, at least you can proceed cautiously. Yes. If it is true that they renounce their infallibility relationship to the early church, and put their trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, then immediately they're just like you and me. It's not the garment you wear, it's what's in your heart that makes the antichrist. The phrase, consumed by the spirit of his mouth and destroyed by the brightness of his appearing, might even include a manifestation of Christ to the Pope. Just a possibility. Not of course under great pressure, and there's no doubt that God is moving mightily in the Catholic Church in these days, to bring light in. We are near the end of the age. The spirit of his mouth has been consuming the antichristian thing, as 2 Thessalonians 2 said it would, ever since the Reformation. There has been this consumption. In 1870, for instance, the Pope lost all his historical states. He ceased to be a king in Europe. 1870. Yes, you're right. All right, anyone else? Questions? Well, I have an idea that happens when Jesus comes. The Thessalonian epistle is full of the second coming, isn't it? Chapter 1, verse 10. Chapter 2, verse 19. Chapter 3, verse 13. Chapter 4, from verse 14 to the end. And chapter 5, verse 2. So it's full of the second coming. It's the epistle which has more about the second coming than any other. So, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with his words. Well, it hasn't happened yet. But, chapter 5. Chapter 5, verse 1. But of the times and the seasons brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say peace and safety, which they're saying now, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travel upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. But ye brethren are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night. They that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us. That whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. So he tells us that the day will come as a thief in the night. But those of us who are in touch with the Lord, will become increasingly aware of the approaching of that day. In the same way that the church in Jerusalem was made aware of the destruction coming nigh, when the army, when the first Roman army surrounded the city. They got up and left, and the Lord gave them nearly three years before the army returned. He gave them plenty of warning. And I'm sure that as we see the horizon darkening, we shall be increasingly alerted to the nearness of his coming. We meet him in the air, but that doesn't say that he doesn't come, that we don't come down with him right away. You know, when the... The Bible doesn't tell us. It's not there, but it's only done by manipulating Daniel's seventy week and breaking the seventieth week off, and turning it from Christ to Antichrist, and everything else, and dropping Calvary in the gap, and all that kind of thing. It's an extraordinary distortion of Scripture which produces that result. And does it say where it's held? I don't... It says, I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it... Well now then, there's a little bit of sorting out here. Yes, that's right. All right, we'll have a look at New Jerusalem another time. Yes, it looks to be before, unless there's an overlap of prophecy here. But it does look as though the great white throne is before New Jerusalem comes down, having the glory of God. There's not a chronology of these things opened up to us, just the reality of the judgment. I think the king will set up the fullness of his kingdom when he comes, and overthrows his foes. Yes, yes, I think so. But that's only what I think. I'm not sure if I can mass the Scriptures together to prove it, but I can... I'm just thinking now of the virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom, you remember, and from the stories, obviously they went out to meet him, and immediately came back with him. And I think that's, that's what the Scripture seems to suggest. There may be a time interval, but it's not shown in the Scripture anyway. Back row. Yes, now according to this after, the resurrection is in chapter 20, and early in chapter 20, up to verse 10, and then the great white throne afterwards, the millennium in chapter 20. Yes, yes, quite a lot. Yes, that's what, that's a post-millennial viewpoint. The idea is the Church will bring in the millennium, and after that will come the end of the world. Well, I'm not very good at forecasting the future. But I'll, I can, I've had a look at both viewpoints. I think that the, the concept that these things happen, that after the Lord comes to earth, he takes up his kingdom and reigns, I think that's the most likely one. Especially as it is underlined in the parable of the pounds and the talents, where the king leaves his servants in charge, and then he comes back to rule, and he rewards his servants with divided governments in his territory. And our Lord is obviously using this as a picture of his absence and his coming kingdom. So I think that's, that's likely. I mean, he knows this, but if we walk with the Lord, we fear it will give us discernment, you know, to know when the things are happening. So there's really no need. It's only a matter of curiosity, really, isn't it? But as one Thessalonian says, that day shall not overtake you. You keep close to the Lord, and you'll know. Yes? They will have to go through it. Well, we may not have to go through it, but certainly some Christians are going through it. I mean, say, if you would, say, come over to one of my friends in Chad, buried up to their necks, you know, while the ants are coming at them, to say, well, cheer up, brother, we won't go through the tribulation. It wouldn't have much point. Yes. Those who have... No, the tribulation of Revelation 7 that we read about is very obviously a tribulation of those who have loved the Lord Jesus, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, and they have suffered for him. It is a martyr tribulation. But the tribulation of Matthew 24 is not the same. It doesn't cover all in the world. It just covers Jerusalem. And you can get away from that one by fleeing to the hills of Judea. But in this great tribulation, if you stand true, you may find yourself in it. And I suggest to you that Revelation 7 covers the whole church age. That's why it is called great. It includes the martyrs under Rome. It includes the 50 million of martyrs who have suffered under the Roman church. It includes those in China who are suffering today, and in other parts of the world. It includes them all. The great tribulation which takes them all in. There's no time period attached to it. Did you notice that when we read Revelation 7? No time period. You'll have difficulty in finding that in scripture. You can find it in books, but not in scripture. And I want to get people back to the Bible. I think there's much that you say is good and worthy of closer investigation. I'm rather doubtful if the three and a half years is literal though. Just like Daniel's 70 weeks, there's probably a year-day scale attached to it. And that's why much of it has been fulfilled in history. But we'll look at it next week. Do you mind if I defer the answer till next week? Well, thank you. I haven't been able to finish my story. But that's worthwhile answering those few questions. I really will come up with the answer next week for that one. All right. Well, the nigger in the woodpile is the fellow who put a gap in the 70 weeks. I assure you there is no gap in God's 70 weeks. God does not give a time measure and then play tricks with it like that. If you had an alarm clock set to go off at seven o'clock and it broke down at five minutes to seven, what would you think of it? And if Daniel's 70 weeks broke off at the end of the 69th, whatever kind of revelation would that be? Ridiculous. All right. Let me give you briefly what they are. The pre-trib rapture theory is that Antichrist, who's already hanging around and preparing to make a covenant with the Jews, doesn't come into manifestation until the church is caught up. And the church will be in the air for three and a half years, halfway between here and heaven. And the judgment seat of Christ will take place. And at the end of that time, the church will come back with him when he deals with his foes. And at that time, he will usher in his millennial reign, at the end of which, at the end of a thousand years, will come the great judgment of the nations. The mid-trib raptures, there are half a dozen of them. Some think there are seven raptures, some think there are three, some think there are two. But they have an idea that those who are really especially holy, or belong to certain societies, will be caught up in the midst of the trouble. And the Lord will bring them out of it and leave the rest to be purified by suffering. The post-trib view is that the whole church goes right through the whole tribulation, and Christ doesn't come until the end of it. I differ from all those in that I belong to the old-fashioned or Protestant view, in which I say that indeed he does not come until the end of the tribulation, but the tribulation is a much longer period, a symbolic period, covering a great section of the church age. I doubt it. Not as far as the... I believe the world will be in terrific trouble, but I don't think that there is a persecution particularly and specifically aimed at Christians. Now, as far as I can see, you may think that the Lord coming is drawing nigh. I might be wrong, but I don't see any indication in Scripture. Does that answer the question? That we may expect him very soon. I think now we need to look at Israel. Israel will be one of your keys to his return, I think. And we may watch that nation for the tremendous events associated with the end time. What else may we look for? Oh, there are some parts of Revelation to be fulfilled yet, but I think as they are already being fulfilled all round us, we can't say, oh well, he won't come for another 20 years. I think you'd better be ready. So prophecy has been designed that every age should be kept ready for his coming. It's beautifully worked out to work out that way. Even the early church, they knew that that Peter would die. So as long as Peter was around, they knew he wouldn't come. But they didn't know whether John would die or not. In fact, they thought that John would remain until the Lord came. And so they were kept on their toes. And then when John wrote later on, he said, he didn't say so, you know, and still left them on the edge of anticipation. So it's a healthy thing to be ready for his coming. All right, well, that's our time. So if you have any more questions next week. All right, let's stand and dismiss. Praise the Lord. Lord, we just bless you for your presence tonight. And you're speaking to us and illumining our eyes that we may see the truths of your word. Help us, Father, to hold these truths near to our heart. That in so doing, we might be more prepared at your coming. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Hallelujah.